Blog Post

Video-Site Shakeout: ManiaTV Shuttered, Finally; PluggedIn Couldn't Be Saved By Men In Black

If by the end of this year about only 95 percent of the independent video sites left at the end of 2008 have shut down, well, the industry would be lucky. Two more casualties this week: After trying a reorg, layoffs and attempting to sell, ManiaTV has shut down operations, according to Mediawek, citing first-hand sources. This despite its stated intention to sell as soon as last week. The staff was informed of the site’s closure on Monday. ManiaTV’s core investors, Comerica Bank, chose to eliminate the company’s line of credit, both as a result of economic crisis and Mania’s own worsening ad business.

Then PluggedIn, an online music video site launched just 11 months ago that had no reason to exist even then, has run out of reasons to continue: It is closing down, according to a report in TC. The site touting HD music videos launched in April last year, with about $2 million in venture funding from Will Smith